Untangling China’s Cybersecurity Laws

China has drafted several security laws over the past year that tighten regulation over suppliers of technological equipment and services.

Chinese officials say the measures are necessary to national security, allowing them to verify that critical equipment isn’t vulnerable to hacking and to help them track down criminals and fight terrorism. But the rules have been criticized by foreign governments and trade groups as onerous and a possible way to discriminate against non-Chinese vendors.

Many of these measures involve the concept of “secure and controllable” technology, a loosely defined term that involves government security checks and data storage within the country.